chapter 27
Tonight’s Ball was just as lively as ever.
Everything was the same as the previous night: the Prince and the fashionably late Cinderella danced the first dance together.
Bella stood off to the side, her jealous gaze nearly tangible, almost piercing Cinderella through like a sieve.
Tu Nan, meanwhile, took advantage of everyone’s attention being focused on the Prince and Cinderella to circle the hall and memorize the layout of the first floor.
Aside from the main entrance, there were no other exits on the first floor. All the windows were tightly shut; when she tried to open them, she found they were nailed shut.
If the main door was locked, escape would be impossible.
But there was still a staircase leading to the second floor.
The second floor was likely made up of living rooms and studies, but Tu Nan couldn’t be sure.
The Prince seemed to have made up his mind to choose Cinderella as his Princess Consort; tonight, he danced only with Cinderella and had no intention of inviting anyone else.
Halfway through the Ball, the hall suddenly went dark.
Chaos erupted all around. Tu Nan, without a dance partner at her side, immediately crouched down and covered her head, strictly following the Rule: no matter what happened or what she heard, she must not stand up before the lights came back on.
A sharp scream rang out nearby. In the darkness, a hand suddenly gripped her arm-icy cold, chilling her to the bone.
Tu Nan gritted her teeth and didn’t move.
“Help me, sister…”
Bella? It was Bella’s voice.
Tu Nan was slightly taken aback. The voice was tearful and pleading, so close it felt as if the speaker was whispering right in her ear.
“Help me, sister… Don’t you want to know who the Mouse is? If you help me, I can tell you who the Mouse really is…”
“Really…?” Tu Nan seemed a little hesitant.
The voice grew excited, “Of course! I know who the Mouse is. As long as you save me, I’ll tell you.”
“How am I supposed to save you?”
“First, get up and come over to me,” Bella said urgently. “Someone’s pressing down on me, I can’t move, I can barely breathe!”
“But I don’t know which direction you’re in,” Tu Nan replied hesitantly.
“Just get up, I’m right on your left,” Bella’s voice grew more anxious.
“Left?” Tu Nan curled her lips in the darkness. “But I… can’t tell left from right, dear sister. Maybe… you can hold on a little longer?”
…
Whatever it was realized Tu Nan was playing with it; its voice turned vicious, and the cold hand traced threateningly along Tu Nan’s neck. “I’ll strangle you…”
“Then go ahead and strangle me.” No matter what, until the lights came back on-even if her legs went numb from crouching-she absolutely would not stand up.
The eerie presence in the darkness: …
Boring. I’m leaving.
Soon after, the lights finally came back on.
Tu Nan leaned against the wall and slowly stood up, pounding her numb legs.
Just as she expected, someone had died again.
A girl in a lavish dress lay pale as paper, collapsed on her back in the center of the hall.
Her death was identical to that of the commoner girl from yesterday.
The body was quickly carried away, and the bloodstains were swiftly cleaned up.
The Ball soon returned to its former liveliness.
Just like yesterday, Cinderella tried to leave in a hurry at midnight.
The Prince chased her out of the Castle, and Tu Nan followed, just in time to witness the Prince picking up one of Cinderella’s Glass Slippers, looking lost and forlorn.
The next day, the Prince issued an order: whoever in the land could fit the Glass Slipper would become his bride.
Soldiers carried the Glass Slipper from house to house, letting girls try it on, but the slipper was far too small-no one could fit into it.
Finally, the Soldiers arrived at Cinderella’s Family.
The door was knocked on, and Serenity opened it. Outside stood two Soldiers, holding a delicate, petite Glass Slipper in their hands.
“The Prince has ordered that whoever can put on this shoe will become the Prince’s new bride,” the Soldier said expressionlessly.
Serenity hid her smile behind her fan and called out her two daughters.
“Layla, Bella, come quickly and try on this shoe.”
This plot was all too familiar.
The Soldier handed the Glass Slipper to Bella and waited outside the door.
Bella was so excited she was about to faint. She clutched the Glass Slipper, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“Oh my god, is this real? As long as I put on this shoe, I can become the Prince’s bride?”
“Of course, Sweetheart,” Serenity smiled.
Only Tu Nan looked pale, almost on the verge of fainting.
The moment she saw the Glass Slipper, a Mandatory Task suddenly popped up in her mind.
[Classic plot of “Cinderella” detected. Player is required to reenact the original plot of “Cinderella” by forcing her foot into the Glass Slipper and being taken away by the Soldier to ensure the story progresses smoothly.
This is a Mandatory Task and cannot be canceled.
If the Player fails to complete the task, a random body part will be lost as punishment.]
She had a thousand curses she wanted to shout.
Now the question arose.
Did she dare to gamble on the word “random”?
In “Cinderella,” in order to fit their feet into the Glass Slipper, Cinderella’s stepsisters-one cut off her heel, the other chopped off her toes. In the end, both were exposed and became a complete joke.
Bella was desperately trying to squeeze her toes into the Glass Slipper, her face turning red with effort, but her toes still couldn’t fit inside.
Now, the problem was obvious.
Was it better to lose a “random body part,” or to lose her own heel? That was the question.
Was it nobler to endure the pain of losing her heel indifferently, or to bravely gamble on losing a random body part?
Which of these actions was more noble?
She didn’t know.
All she knew was that both hurt.
Serenity had already fetched a knife from the Kitchen and handed it to Bella. Her seemingly gentle smile now looked as venomous as a viper. “Sweetheart, sometimes one must make sacrifices to get what they want. Whether you succeed depends on how ruthless you can be.”
Bella took the knife and looked at her thick toes, hesitating for only a second.
She raised the knife and brought it down.
She let out a scream of unbearable pain, her face as white as paper, cold sweat pouring down her body, trembling uncontrollably.
Two toes fell to the floor.
Tu Nan couldn’t help but shudder, as if she could already see herself being forced to cut off her heel.
She had to think of a solution immediately.
Bella, pale and shaking, stretched her foot into the Glass Slipper. This time, her foot finally fit perfectly into the Glass Slipper.
“Layla, why are you standing there? Hurry and clean up what’s on the floor.”
Serenity reminded her.
Tu Nan snapped out of her daze, quickly grabbed a Rag to clean up the bloodstains on the floor, and picked up Bella’s toes that had fallen to the ground.
Serenity supported the trembling Bella, opened the door, and let the two Soldiers at the entrance see the Glass Slipper on Bella’s foot.
“She is the Prince’s new bride!” the Soldiers announced loudly, taking Bella to the Carriage and riding off toward the Royal Palace.
“Mother, I’d like to go back to my room and rest for a bit,” Tu Nan suddenly said to Serenity.
Serenity smiled with satisfaction and nodded, agreeing to her request.
Tu Nan hurried back to her room, closed the door, pressed her back against it, and took out the Rag she had hidden in her pocket.
She spread the Rag out on her palm. There, lying unmistakably, were two toes.
-Bella’s toes.